Festivities include coming of age ceremonies (成人式, seijin-shiki) held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties among family and friends.

Note that Coming of Age Day and the ceremony itself are not directly linked to changes in the legal status of young people.

[1] Coming of age ceremonies have been celebrated in Japan since at least 714 CE, during the reign of Empress Genmei when a young prince donned new robes and a hairstyle to mark his passage into adulthood.

Genpuku (元服) is a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony which dates back to Japan's classical Nara period (710–794 AD).

For both male and female children, studies in the Heian period began between ages three and four, usually under the supervision of a wet nurse and perhaps her husband.

Proper education for girls was tied to successful or advantageous marriage, or their future ability to maintain a wealthy patron within the court.

[7] The earliest official record of genpuku in Japan dates back to the Nara period (710–794 AD), and the ceremony itself is based on an earlier Chinese custom in the Tang dynasty.

[4] In addition, clothing and attire of childhood were ungendered and it was not uncommon for male children to wear makeup often as wakashū.

[7] The genpuku ceremony itself almost always took place in the evening on a predetermined "auspicious day", either at the residence of a kakan (dignitary) or at the Shishinden (Kyoto Imperial Palace).

[5] Girls participating in mogi coming-of-age ceremonies traditionally blackened their teeth, shaved their eyebrows, and applied makeup.

[7] In 1185 AD the aristocratic court government of classical Japan was forced to coexist with a warrior-administration, ushering in the Age of the Samurai.

The central feature of genpuku throughout this time period was the placing of a samurai helmet, rather than court cap, by a high status warrior.

[6] War acted as a sort of consummation following genpuku, solidifying societal acknowledgement of full adult warrior status.

As the long peace continued, the appropriate age to transition from child to adult was lowered in response to dynastic pressures to marry and produce heirs.

As a result of the new meanings tied to the ceremony and work, the once solid transitions between childhood and adulthood were lost within the artisan and merchant classes.

[6] Adulthood was put off in order that youth could acquire more or new skills related to their future occupations, resulting in the re-emergence of a period resembling adolescence.

[10] At the time, when Japan was in a state of despair due to the defeat, Shojiro Takahashi, then the leader of the Youth League of Warabi Town (later the mayor of Warabi City), hosted a youth festival in order to give hope and encouragement to the young people who would bear Japan's future.

[11] Inspired by Warabi’s youth festival, the Japanese government promulgated and enacted the National Holidays Law in 1948, to be held every year on January 15.

[12] The official holiday aimed "to realise the passage from youth to adulthood, and to celebrate and encourage young people embarking on their adult lives".

[9] In 1949, January 15 was designated as the Coming of Age Day to congratulate and exhort young people to become adults and live independently.

In addition, according to a survey conducted around 2018, Nagoya City and Morotsuka Village in the Higashiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture also claim to be the birthplace of the Coming of Age Ceremony.

[15] Japan's low birth rate and shrinking percentage of young people, coupled with disruptions to some ceremonies in recent years (such as an incident in Naha in 2002, when drunken Japanese youths tried to disrupt the festivities) and a general increase in the number of 20-year-olds who do not feel themselves to be adults have led to decreased attendance of the ceremonies, which has caused some concern among older Japanese.

This change has caused confusion on the status of the holiday, and raised concerns among the kimono industry which profits from the garments worn during the ceremonies.

[21] Many women celebrate this day by wearing furisode, a style of kimono with long sleeves that hang down, and zōri sandals.

Since most are unable to put on a kimono by themselves due to the intricacies involved, many choose to visit a beauty salon to dress and to set their hair.

[24] It is because these areas have high snowfall, and many young people are out of town and do not come back until Golden Week or Obon.

The Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications estimated the population of new adults in January 2020 to be 1.22 million.

In 2018, Harenohi, a company that sells furisode (long-sleeved kimono) in Yokohama and other cities, abruptly shut down its business on January 8, the Coming of Age Ceremony day.

This incident caused an uproar because those who had made reservations to purchase or rent a furisode from the company were unable to wear it, and some had to cancel their participation in the Ceremony.

[28] According to the public opinion survey conducted by the Yokohama City Board of Education in March 2004, among minors, new adults, and people in their 20s, approximately 20% to 30% viewed the Coming of Age Ceremony as an event like a reunion where friends meet again.